The present invention relates to a food composition adapted to produce a food product that has an enhanced robustness to microbiological spoilage and a reduced sourness. The invention also relates to a method for providing in a convenient manner a microbiologically robust food product of reduced sourness from such a food composition. The method also relates to a preservative blend that can be added to food, in particular to deferred cooking food, for the purpose of increasing its shelf life and improving its robustness without negatively affecting flavor or taste.
Growing popularity for good tasting and convenient food products has increased in recent years. In food service areas or in food manufacturing plants, it is usual to prepare relatively large amounts of food products to consume at a later time. This is especially true of products derived from dehydrated forms. Food products such as naturally low acid products can quickly form a favorable medium and promote suitable conditions for rapid microbial growth as soon as they become hydrated, and this presents handling concerns.
Low acid food products need absolutely to be stored in refrigerated cabinets at a temperature that should not exceed 8xc2x0 C. Such storage will inhibit the growth of bacteria, yeast and molds in the food product. Microbial growth also depends on the degree of contamination in the product during its preparation. Although measures can be taken to limit cross-contamination in manufacturing plants, it may be more difficult to ensure proper hygiene and handling in foodservice preparation kitchens. For example, it is known that food products may endure abuse temperature conditions (i.e., temperatures of 10xc2x0 C. or higher) in these areas. Such conditions may occur when the refrigeration cabinet does not perform very well or when the cabinet is left open too often and/or too long.
Low-pH vegetable-based meals such as mashed potatoes are known for being very microbiologically sensitive products that become spoiled very quickly. To prevent microbial development, these products may be preserved under acidic conditions wherein the pH is maintained sufficiently low to suppress growth of pathogenic and spoilage bacteria. To be effective, the pH of the product needs to be maintained at values of less than 4.6 by adding an acidic preservative system of weak organic acids such as acetic acid or citric acid and/or acetates such as sodium acetate and other similar compounds.
Attempts to solve the problem of storage of low acid foods has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,451 to Oles, wherein microbiological spoilage is prevented by use of phosphoric acid in synergistic combination with acetic acid, and in absence of the usual chemical food preservatives.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,919 discloses a method of preserving food products against microbiological spoilage by adding thereto for preservation purpose fumaric acid or fumaric acid in combination with a food acidulent at a level sufficient to prevent spoilage.
After the food product has been treated with an acidic preservative system, however, it receives much lower acceptance from the consumer as compared to a food product that has not been treated at all. The problem of acceptance comes from the sourness and/or acidity of the product that adversely effect its original taste and organoleptic properties. The acidity may also cause other problems such as digestive or gastric issues. Thus, there is a need for increasing the shelf life of food products while preserving the taste perception and organoleptic properties of such products, and the present invention satisfies this need.
The present invention provides a solution to the problems of the art, more particularly in the use of its findings that the robustness and shelf life of a food product can be successfully improved while the organoleptic and taste properties of the product are properly restored at the time the product is ready for consumption.
The present invention thus benefits both the efficiency of the use of preservative in low acid food products and the maintainance of the organoleptic properties of food products, in particular, even, if non-exclusively, in naturally low acid food products. Consequently, the invention improves the quality and characteristics of food products that are acidified to endure a period of storage in microbiologically sensitive conditions without significant spoilage.
Also, the invention increases the shelf stability and robustness of food products that contain an acidic preservative system while reducing the sourness and/or acidity of the food product upon demand and/or before serving.
Furthermore, the present invention enables the storage of microbiologically sensitive food product in a cold or chilled environment for an extended period of time while not significantly affecting the organoleptic qualities of the food product at the time that the product is delivered to the consumer.
The invention also increases the shelf life of food products, more particularly of food products that are stored chilled for deferred cooking, without negatively affecting flavor and taste perception of such products.
Finally, the present invention increases convenience in the service of food products to consumers, in particular in the foodservice area, by allowing microbiologically sensitive food products to be prepared in advance and safely stored in wet and chilled environment while still providing a high quality, good tasting food product at the time of serving.
In its product aspect, the present invention relates to a food composition comprising an acidifying preservative system adapted to reduce the microbial growth in the composition. The preservative system is preferably effective when the composition is stored in microbiologically sensitive conditions. The composition further includes a neutralizing system adapted to neutralize the effect of the acidifying preservative system. Importantly, the neutralizing system is maintained substantially inactive at the time the food composition is in the microbiologically sensitive conditions of storage. The neutralizing system is preferably adapted to activate on demand, i.e., when reactivating conditions are met, so that the neutralizing system acts on the acidifying preservative system to neutralize its acidity thereby reducing the sourness and/or acidic taste and, consequently, improving or, at least restoring, the organoleptic perception of the food.
Conditions that are sensitive to the microbial growth for the food composition would be considered such when the food composition becomes sufficiently hydrated. The composition may become hydrated by addition of water, if the food component itself is dehydrated or, by the nature of the food component itself, if for instance, the food component is a fresh food such as fresh vegetables and the like.
In addition, conditions that are sensitive to the microbial growth further include temperature conditions which do not completely stop the growth of bacteria, yeast and molds and/or degradation of food. Those temperature conditions may be chilled conditions, abuse conditions or ambient temperature conditions.
The neutralizing system is preferably reactivable on demand such as by heating of the food composition. Heating may be carried out either on the sole purpose of reactivating the neutralizing system or on the combined purpose of reactivating the neutralizing system and serving the food composition hot or warm. In the first alternative, the food composition may be subsequently cooled down and served at a low temperature or cold temperature if, for instance, it fits the usual way of serving the food. In all cases, the neutralizing effect should preferably take place during the heating phase or, at least, at the final stage of the heating.
In a preferred aspect of the invention, the neutralizing system is encapsulated to substantially resist, or at least delay, the full release of the neutralizing effect when the composition is maintained in microbiologically sensitive conditions of storage. By xe2x80x9csubstantially resistance to releasexe2x80x9d, it is meant that a certain level of release of the neutralizing system may be accepted over a period of from about 1 to 7 and preferably from 2 to 5 days, even if not preferred, provided the acidifying preservative system still remains effective enough in reducing the microbial spoilage.
The invention also relates to a dry blend of an acidifying preservative system adapted to prevent or, at least reduce, the microbial growth in a food when the food is stored in microbiologically sensitive conditions and a neutralizing system. In this embodiment, the neutralizing system is encapsulated to substantially delay release in the microbiologically sensitive conditions and is adapted to fully release upon heating of the neutralizing system so that the neutralizing system acts on the acidifying preservative system to neutralize its sourness and/or acidity thereby improving the taste perception of the food.
In its process aspect, the present invention is directed to a method for increasing shelf stability of a microbiologically sensitive food composition under standard storage temperature conditions and robustness of the composition under abuse temperature conditions by adding an acidifying preservative system in sufficient amounts to preserve the food against microbial spoilage, and an on-demand reactivable neutralizing system to decrease the sourness and/or acidity of the food composition when reactivated.
In a more specific and focused aspect, the method of the invention may preferably be used for providing to a foodservice, manufacturing or selling location an hydratable food composition of improved microbiological robustness, when it is in hydrated form. Thus, the method comprises providing a dehydrated food composition including a dry food component, a preservative system effective to reduce the microbiological growth in refrigerated and abuse conditions, a neutralizing system that is essentially activable on demand.
In a preferred aspect of this method, the neutralizing agent is activable by raising the temperature of the composition to a temperature range higher than the temperature range of the microbial sensitive storage conditions and sufficient to activate the neutralizing system.
The invention also relates to the use of a combination of an acidifying preservative system and a neutralizing system in a food composition to improve the taste perception or organoleptic properties of the product. Again, the acidifying preservative system is used in an amount effective for preventing or at least reducing the microbial growth in the food composition while the neutralizing system is inactivated in microbiologically sensitive conditions of storage of the food composition but is adapted to activate on demand to act on the acidifying preservative system to neutralize its sourness and/or acidity thereby improving the taste perception or organoleptic properties of the food composition.